01 World

HZPC closely follows developments and trends around the world. We are constantly confronted with new challenges but there are also many opportunities for a versatile product such as the potato. Together with our chain partners, we are examining how we can quickly and flexibly capitalise on needs, opportunities and change. We lead the field, where necessary, and forge a pathway for new sales markets and innovations.

Food pattens and eating habits are constantly changing. As is the way people regard food provenance and production. The use of chemicals in food production is becoming increasingly unacceptable, strengthened by more stringent regulations in this area. Consumers, particularly in wealthier countries, prefer to buy their food close to home.

Classic potato consumption is making way for meals in which potatoes are incorporated. The emergence of meal boxes and online recipe apps help to create new mealtime experiences. It is clear that ‘convenience serves the people’ and, in turn, larger quantities of processed food are available because consumers have less and less time to devote to cooking. The emergence of food services that prepare meals and deliver them to people’s homes is a significant trend for the coming years. In this context, we are also seeing the consumption of fries and crisps increasing across the globe.

People tend to eat fries in catering outlets, during events, in theme parks and at festivals. As a result of the strict lock-downs in Europe, however, the consumption of fries reduced considerably. The summer of 2020 offered a little relief as catering outlets were able to open. The lock-downs, however, led to an increase in home consumption of potatoes and fries.

In poorer countries which were already experiencing crises, Coronavirus had a reinforcing impact. The gap between rich and poor across the world has expanded further due to a lack of the kind of support measures that have been offered within Europe. Although the potato is not susceptible to recession, the impact of Coronavirus and the political instability in certain countries has had an impact on international trade. Cuba, for example, has bought fewer seed potatoes. At the moment, Cuba cannot produce sufficient food. Food security is under pressure. This also offers opportunities: a potato grows faster under all conditions and offers high nutritional value. By importing more seed potatoes, countries can rectify potential food shortages in the short-term.

Potatoes can be grown under practically any conditions, across the world.  Where that is more tricky, such as tropical areas, we are working with the potato institute Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) and Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) to develop varieties that are also suitable for this type of region. To realise our aims, we are crossing high quality HZPC varieties with indigenous, tropical clones from CIP. The varieties that are created fulfil the needs of small-scale farmers in Asia, Africa and South America. Irregularity in rainfall is a challenge for potato crops. We are increasingly having to cope with extreme drought and periods of heavy rainfall. The regulation and efficient use of rainwater thus becomes trickier. It's a future challenge for which we must prepare ourselves.

In North America, HZPC is working on the Potato Glory project, with a view to raising awareness about the endless options offered by potatoes. We do this for users in the food service channel (chefs) and the retail channel (dieticians and category managers) and, of course, the consumers themselves. There are so many options for potatoes, aside from fries. For example, we are developing a healthy alternative for the popular roast potato. Thanks to a potato with a creamy flavour (e.g. Vivaldi), calorie-rich additions such as cheese and cream are no longer required. In 2020, we conducted a flavour study among 1,200 consumers in 4 different cities, and the flavour of the Vivaldi, Sifra and Noblesse varieties were picked as winners.

Across the globe, you can see two major developments. There are regions where population growth has come to a standstill and people are becoming much more aware of what they are eating. This is the case in areas such as Europe. There is certainly no demand for more food, the focus lies on the quality of of food, the impact on the environment and population health.

In Africa and parts of Asia, the population is increasing rapidly while production is lagging behind. Here, you must focus on production increases using the current acreage, or with minimal expansion in the land used. The solution is to help small, local farmers to scale up, without creating any new pollution.

Europe must take the lead when it comes to a cleaner food system. This could include encouraging circular agriculture practices, along with the use of artificial fertilisers. This means you can continue to produce on the same land without competing with biodiversity. It is important that farmers are encouraged to try to do things differently. It is also important that consumers feel that they are paying more for one food than for the other. Farmers often indicate that policy is far too erratic. There is no clear course that they can follow, as entrepreneurs.

Both policy and research show that the provision of food worldwide is no longer viewed from the perspective of production and availability alone. The focus now lies on the entire food system, i.e. production, processing and consumption. You cannot resolve issues relating to food and sustainability simply by adjusting practices on the supply side. It requires an integrated and global approach.

Simultaneously, in the Netherlands, we must cherish what we are good at. The seed potato is a great example of this: it is hugely valuable on a global scale and encompasses a broad range of knowledge and expertise. The approach to this type of sector varies from the approach used for a one-hectare crop that can just as easily be grown over the border.